Ironing machine



Feb. 6,- 1945.

H. M. RUMBAUGH IRONING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.FIG. 3.

I INVENTOR Feb. 6, 1945. H. M. RU QAUGH 2,368,946

I IRONING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1940 2 Shets-Sheet 2 6 FQZG.7.

Patented Feb. 6, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I,

llughhl f u lffugfi i t t ifrgh, Pa; Application June26, ljllitsssiizzfm342,489 I e 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved ironing machineparticularly adapted for domestic use and especially to an electricallyheated power operated type of ironer.

A prime object of the present invention is to provide a simple andinexpensive ironer and a machinethat will facilitate and expediteironing operations and particularly the ironing of garments havingsleeves such for example as' shirts, although my machine is capable ofoperating on all articles customarily ironed in homes. A further objectof my invention is to provide a new and improved ironing machineembodying a construction wherein an ironer shoe is located between arotatable roll member and' the position adapted to be occupied normallybythe operator, said ironer shoe being peripherally unobstructed and ofa girth so as to enable telescopingly drawing thereover, a sleeve of amans shirt of normal range of sizes for performing an ironing operationon the sleeve while positioned on the ironer shoe.

Characteristic and important features of my invention include arelatively large ironer roll, in which the driving mechanism for theroll may be installed and an ironer-shoe of a relatively small size,said roll and shoe being supported and capable of being brought into andout of ironing position by simple, efficient and easily operable means.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate applications of myinvention:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of an ironing machine embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2, an end elevational view;

Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional view particularly showing the roll andthe roll driving mechamsm; f

Fig. 4, a sectional view taken on the line IV-IV Of Fig; 3;

Fig. 5, a diagrammatic view of the ironing shoe;

Fig. 6, an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line VI'VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7, a front elevational view embodying a. modified form of myinvention;

Fig. 8, an end Fig. 7; and I t Fig. 9, a view similar to Fig. 7 showinga garment positioned on the machine for ironing and particularly showinga sleeve of the garment in Position on the ironer-shoe.

Referring to the drawings and first to the form of Figure 1, 5 indicatesa base made of any suitable material upon which the ironer is supported.8 designates a padded horizontally extending roll of relatively largediameter, and 1 an ironershoe elevational view of the form of' y willenable a sleeve of the ironing machine, this shoe being of relativelysmall size and of a configuration such as of a garment to be appliedthereon. 1 Y As illustrated and as preferred, the roll 6 is supportedfrom the base 5 by means of a pivotally mounted vertically extendingupright havinga terminal extension 8 approximately at right angles tothe vertical portion 9 of the supporting element. The ironer-shoe l issupported from the base 5 in a manner somewhat similar to the supportingmeans employed for the roll, and, as illustrated, comprises avertieallyextending arm I ll pivotally connected with the base 5 at H. The upperend of arm III has a cross-section of approximately the width of theshoe to permit a sleeve of the garment to pass thereover. The

' supporting upright for the roll is also pivotally connected to thebase as at 12.

My invention of the form of Fig. 1, contemplates movements of the rolland the shoe towards and-away from each other. The means illustrated forperforming this operation include,

an operating lever l3 having its lower end connected with the lower endof portion 9 of the pivotally mounted roll support by a pin i4, andconnected at [5, with a link I 6, the latter leading therefrom to thelower end of the shoe support to which the other end of link i6 isconnected, by a pin M, thus effecting a toggle connection between thelever and the respective lower ends of the roll and shoe supports.

The roll driving mechanism may be located within the hollow roll 6 andcomprises any well known and conventional drive. As showndiagrammatically, I8 designates .an electric motor, Is a reduction gearcase secured to the motor casing and adaptedior receiving any suitablegear reduction mechanism. The motor and gear case are supported withinthe hollow roll by a non-rotatable hollow shaft or tube 20, said tube 20in turn being supported by spiders 2i having bearings 22. Shaft 20projects outwardly from the roll and through a sleeve 23, the latterbeingheld .between a, collar 24 and a nut 25 mounted on the screwthreaded end of the hollow shaft 20. 26 designates a driveshaft'extending from the gear case and through a drive element 21,fixedly secured to the hollow roll. Drive shaft 26 is flattened at oradjacent its end as at 28 for cooperation with element 21, a collar 29and a screw 30.

The ironer-shoe 1 constitutes an important and characteristic feature ofmy invention; As illustrated, it lncludesa hollow casing 3| made of somesuitable insulating material, for example, 1

Bakelite or other heat resisting material. 32 designates an electricalresistance element preferabl'y made of strips of mica with theresistance coils wound thereon as particularly shown by Fig. the wires aand b leading outwardly through an end of the shell. The ironing elementproper 33 is positioned in the hollow shell or casing 3| in such amanner that the operator is protected while using the ironer from acci-,

dental contact therewith. This element 33 may may be made from anysuitable metal and has an outer surface to conform-with the shape of theroll. a j Attention is called to the large open-ended air chamber 34within the casing which acts as a cooling space for the casing. In thisconstruction the resistance element may be placed very close to themetallic ironing element 33.

Among the. advantages of the relatively small shoe, in addition to beingable to apply a sleeve of a garment thereon, are: that the shoe hassmall square inch material contacting area resulting in increasedpressure per square inch,- thus improving quality of ironing, andreducing the time; providing an even temperature and a quick recovery;and the provision of a shoe structure of less cost of manufacture, ofless weight andallowing the. employment of a smaller heating element. Inthe modified form of my invention as illustrated in Figs. 7, 8' and 9, Ihave shown the roll 8 and the ironer-shoe I mounted in a differentmanner from that shown in the form of Fig. 1. In this form of myinvention the rotatable roll 8 is mounted on a fixed supporting uprightin place of the pivotally mounted upright employed for supporting theroll in the form of Fig. 1. This upright comprises a vertical extendingportion 9a and a terminal extension 8a, the support is secured to thebase by a flanged portion 35 and screw bolts 38.

In this form of my invention I moving the ironing-shoe towards and awayfrom *the fixedly supported roll' 8 instead of movin both the roll andthe ironing-shoe towards and away from each other as in the form ofFig. 1. To accomplish these movements the shoe mounting is the same asin the form of Fig. 1, and includes the vertically extending arm .01upright Illa pivotally secured to the base 5 at Ila. In this form ofFig. 7, I employ the pivotally mounted-lever [3a having its lower endconnected to the base at Ma and a link IBa connecting the lower end ofsupport Ilia to the lever l3a at' I Ba.

It will be noted that the supportsfor the roll and the shoe are locatedat opposite ends of said elements and at opposite ends of the basethereby providing a structure that will produce a uniform pressure atall contacting points between ing and forming hard spots, the paddingretain- Q contemplate aseaase of the shirt designated 31 is shown inironing position on the ironer-shoe, with a cufi 38 proiecting over anend thereof and the other end of the shoe and its supporting membercovered by a shoulder of the shirt, part of the shirt is convenientlybunched for manipulation as indicated by the numeral 39.

,When in this position on the shoe, the pressurehandle is pushed@downward applying pressure and starting rotation of the roll. Theoperator then grasps the two extreme ends of the positioned sleeve whiletheroll" moves, sliding .the shirt sleeve over the smooth shoe until onehalf of the sleeve is ironed, then he releases the handle whichautomatically stops the roll and shifts the sleeve to the unironedportion and repeats the above operation. In other words, one

half of the circumference of the sleeve is ironed and .then the otherhalf. The shirt sleeve slides over the shoe and turns aroundsimultaneously with the rotation oi. the roll, for example, a half ofthe circumference of the sleeve and at the same surface speed as theroll. Only a portion of the entire sleeve is thus ironed at oneoperation. The machine is then stopped and the remaining portion or thesleeve circumferentially is next ironed. When the sleeve is positioned,the operator can with both hands push the shoe toward the roll whichwill cause, the roll to assist in holding the sleeve while the operatorlets go with one hand and pushes the lever down, or, the operator canimmediately push the lever down when ing its elastic qualities muchlonger than in a structure having a large ironer-shoe.

Figure 9 particularly shows a method that may the sleeve is positionedand then return the hands to adjacent opposite ends- With the firstmethod, the sleeve canbe stretched and then held'in a stretchedcondition while the remaining distance of the handle is forced down toapply pressure. I

As pointed out in the preceding paragraph, in

ironing a sleeve, there is not more than a complete revolution ofthe'roll when the .shoe is opened and the sleeve is rearranged whicheliminates warping or jamming around the support. The only portion thatis pulled around the'support is the unironed'part, which is ironed as itis withdrawn.

It will be understood that I have provided an ironing machine in which.both the roll and the shoe are open at both ends and are unobstructedthroughout their lengths, thus greatly simplifying theapplication ofgarments thereto and the removal therefrom. 1 It will be understood thatthe reason for employing a support vfor the shoe of a girth notexceeding the approximate girth of the shoe as shown by the. drawings,is to provide a construction for also telescopically receiving a sleeveof a mans shirt of normal range of sizes whereby the shoe and itssupport cooperate in performing an ironing operation as herein describedand particularly illustrated by Figure 9.

I claim: r

1. In an ironer of the character described an ironer roll, an ironershoeof a girth to telescopically receive a sleeve of a man's shirt ofnormal range of sizes and having a heatedpressing face having a,relatively narrow material-contacting area, a support at an end thereofapproximately of a girth not exceeding the girth of said shoe; said shoebeing located between said roll and the position adapted tobe occupiednormally by the operator, said shoe and support being peripherallyunobstructed so as to enable drawing said sleeve thereover, a powerdrive connection for rotating said roll, and means engageable by anoperator in and said position for moving the shoe towards away from theroll.

' sleeve of a man's shirt of normal range of sizes and having a heatedpressing face having a relatively narrow material-contacting area, asupport at an end thereof approximately of a girth not exceeding that ofsaid shoe, said shoe being located between said roll and the positionadapted to be occupied normally by the operator, said shoe and supportbeing peripherally unobstructed so as to ber being disposed at a lowerelevation than the upper edge of said roll, a support extending fromenable drawing said sleeve thereover, a power drive connection forrotating said roll, and toggle means depressible by anoperator in saidposition for effecting relative movement or the roll and shoe.

3. An ironer of the class described having a roll, a base member, anupright member rising from the base member, a non-rotatable shaftextending laterally from the upright member into one end of said roll,means Journalling the roll on said'shaft, roll-driving mechanismenclosed by the roll and mounted by the inner end of said shaft, a driveshaft housed in the roll extending from said mechanism on the oppositeside to thenon-rotatable shaft in alignment therewith and attached tothe roll, an arm rising from and pivcum to said base, a shoe carried bythe arm in parallelism to the roll, said shoe being located between saidroll and the position adapted to be occupied normally by the operator,said shoe and arm for a distance leading fromthe shoe being relativelyattenuated and peripherally unobstructed, and means attached to the armand base engageable and operable from said position to move the shoewith an article telescoped there- 'on into ironing position relative tothe roll.

4. In an ironer of the type where the shoe is located between the rolland the position adapted to be normally occupied by an operator, asupport extending from one end of said shoe, and a support extendingfrom one end of said roll, the other end of said shoe and other end ofsaid roll being free, said supports being connected to opposite ends ofthe base and means operable from said position-to move one of saidsupports relatively to the other support to place the shoe and rollimand out of ironing relation.

5. In an ironing machine of the type where the shoe member is locatedbetween the rollmember and the position adapted to be occupied normallyby the operator, said shoe member having a distal end, the upper edge ofsaid shoe memthe other end of the shoe member, said shoe member and rollmember being free of periph- 'eral obstruction and one of said membersbeing of a size and shape to allow telescopingover it, the sleeve of anormal size man's shirt, and means, operable from said position to placethe shoe and roll in and out of ironing relation;

6. In an ironer of the character described. abase member, a rotatableironer roll, an ironer shoe of a girth for telescopingly receiving asleeve of a man's shirt of normal range of sizes for performing anironing operation on said sleeve while solely positioned upon said shoe,an upwardly extending support for the shoe attached to said shoe andextending from anend portion thereof to the base member and attachedthereto, said support being of a girth not exceeding theapproximategirth of said shoe, said shoe being located between saidironer roll and the position to be occupied normally by the operator,said shoe and support being peripherally unobstructed so as to enabletelescopically drawing said sleeve thereover, and means for eilectingrelative movement of the shoe and roll.

7. In an ironer of the type wherein the shoe is located between the rolland the position adapted to be normally occupied by an operator, a base,a support extending from one end of said shoe, a. support extending fromone end of said the shoe and roll in and out of ironing relation,.

said ironer shoe being of a girth for telescoping'ly receiving asleeveof a man's shirt of normal range of sizes for performing an ironingoperation on said sleeve, said first mentioned supportbeing-substantially of a girth not exceeding the girth of said shoe,said shoe and first mentioned support being peripherally unobstructed soas to enable drawing said sleeve thereover whereby a sleeve and bodyportion of said shirt may be telescoped over and gathered or bunched onsaid first mentioned support while the other sleeve of said shirtsurrounds the shoe in position to be ironed, the construction therebyenabling successive changes in the positioning of the shirt relative tothe shoe so that single-thickness ironing of the sleeves and ironing ofother portions of the shirt is attained.

' HUGH M. RUMBAUGH.

